The Rookie (2×10) The Dark Side Review

For our review of the last episode of The Rookie, click here.

The rookies and Detective Armstrong have a night out on the town talking about their relationships. He warns them to not date civilians, but married an elementary teacher himself. Chen goes to the bar to grab some drinks and has a meet cute with a new man named Caleb (Matthew Cassidy). She gets interrupted by seeing a thief stealing tips from the bar and she managed to subdue him. Will sparks fly? Here’s what went down in “The Dark Side.”

The mid-season finale centers around the team having to escort female serial killer Rosalind Dyer (Annie Wersching) around to uncover a few locations of her victims in exchange for a life sentence instead of death. She escorts the rookies, Harper, Armstrong and ADA Sean Delmonte (Michael Trucco) to the various sites and this is where the tension continues to rise. Armstrong and his guilt boils over and Dyer uses this to her advantage. She gets under his skin, attacks his emotions and tries to bring anyone else along with him on this manipulated plan of hers.

Things get worse when they find a second body at one of the sites meaning she either had an accomplice or there is a copycat that knows her victims’ locations. Nolan tries to reason with her, but she wants to play with him and thinks it is all a game. He is lucky that she doesn’t know much about him or his past or she would have Nolan wrapped around her finger. Instead, he is the calmest he has been in any situation realizing that there is a time and place for empathy. After finding a second victim, they realize a pattern of three months between each with the next landing on coincidentally today! They find the next victim and stumble upon the murderer, but they lose him in some nearby tunnels.

What is hilarious is how overprotective Bradford is of Chen when she is unexpectedly confronted by Caleb again. He acts like the macho big brother who wants to protect her and that’s of course due to their closeness compared to the rest of the rookies. Their bond has grown the most over the past two seasons so it is expected that Bradford would feel close to Chen and care for her well-being. And he seems to be a good judge of character as Caleb’s nice guy persona is just an act in the end leaving one of our beloved characters in peril.

Captain’s Log

• Does Wesley need help with his trauma?
• Will the team find Chen in time?
• Is someone else helping Caleb?

What did you think of “The Dark Side”? Was it the mid-season finale you hoped for? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips